This Eclectic London Home Nods to Its Owner’s Greek Heritage

Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar

June 21, 2024 at 8:00 AM·7 min read

James Arkoulis doesn’t take no for an answer, at least not in matters regarding his home. When the London-based interior designer and cofounder of interior design studio Howark Design couldn’t find a bathtub to his satisfaction, he decided to design one himself, lying supine day after day in an attempt to paint on the perfect floral details. The bathtub, of course, is merely a metaphor for his mind. He admits he never tires of reinventing, as was the case during the remodel of his and his husband’s West London home, which he helmed himself alongside Howark Design cofounder Saskia Howard.

The entrance is anchored by a Black Curve console table by Graham & Green, which plays host to a medley of tchotchkes from James’s collection. “The console really gives a warm welcome when you walk in and we are always changing the items on there,” says James, who underpinned the piece with a candy-striped Rander ceramic stool from Oka.

“We loved this space with its original tiled floor and beautiful stained glass windows,” says James of the entrance. “Everything else in the house was white, and the stained glass seemed like a hint of all the colorful things to come.” The first of those things, he confirms, was the framed print by Greek artist Alekos Fassianos that enlivens the wall by the front door.

Ask him what drew the couple to the home in the first place and James explains that it was its perfect Edwardian hallmarks—and its perfectly blank canvas. “Most of the spaces were completely white and plain, with no decoration at all, so it was up to us to inject some personality,” he explains. Personality, of course, was something he had in spades, and he saw it as an opportunity to channel his colorful Greek heritage, as well as his husband Stuart’s glorious green thumb (Stuart is a professional landscape designer). “We wanted to create a little world of our own where eclectic treasures collected over the years could coexist in harmony,” notes James.

James in his perfectly olive living room.

Speaking of coexisting, it’s no coincidence that the home balances old and new with elan. “It was important to remain true to the home’s Edwardian past while making the space distinctly our own,” says James, who retained many of the home’s historic hallmarks, including the encaustic tiles at the entrance and fireplaces, which he and Saskia reincarnated in bolder, brighter forms. “The color palette was very much dictated by the light and orientation of the home, and we attempted many swatches to find tones that would be nice throughout the day and into the evening,” avers Saskia. James admits they might have taken the exercise a little too far in the living and dining rooms, which required thirty rounds of color testing and six coats of paint to arrive at the perfect warm olive (the latter exercise was undertaken by Stuart, who may or may not have regretted volunteering for said activity). “It was a real labor of love!” muses James.

Artworks from Etsy and eBay, and collected vintage novelties, add character to the living room wall.

Above the fireplace in the living room hangs a vintage Swedish painting by an unknown artist.

The dining room was designed for entertaining. “It’s wonderful in the summer with the French doors open for long lunches or in the winter with loads of candles and the fires on,” shares James. The table and chairs are lucky eBay finds that James painted and restored. GP & J Baker’s Nympheus fabric was the obvious choice for the chairs because “it has the most wonderful color palette and a pattern inspired by plants.”

When it came to decor and furniture, James focused more on how the home would feel rather than how it would look. Which meant looking to his past, and more specifically his childhood, for cues. He modeled the kitchen after his grandmother’s in Greece, keeping it open to light and ventilation, while bringing in Mediterranean influences like patterned wall tile and sunny yellow walls. He and Saskia took a similar approach with the guest bedroom, painting it a charming hushed pink and giving it a cozy spirit reminiscent of his grandparents’ English cottage. The nods to his past weren’t limited to the walls alone. They also extended to art and objects, including inherited lamps and a midcentury artwork, which he respectively elevated to the bedroom and dining room.

“This was a huge transformation,” James says of the kitchen. “The room is north-facing, so finding a color that would be warm all through the year was key.” He channeled his grandmother’s kitchen in Greece with retro wall tiles, a cottage-style plate rack, and an Old School Electric Beehive pendant from Holloways of Ludlow. The print is by Greek artist Alekos Fassianos.

“My favorite part of the kitchen is probably the new window and sink. After we installed it, I was wondering about how to make the window more interesting and had the idea of painting something around it. This shape was inspired by a recent trip to Barcelona, where I saw plenty of painted window surrounds,” avers James

Tucked under the stairs is an eggplant-toned powder room with a vintage sink and other equally characterful curiosities.

For James and Stuart, the home is pretty close to the one they’d imagined from the start. “It’s been a wonderful starting point in our lives,” concedes James. “The house always seems to be changing as we bring in new flowers and plants, and expand and move around our collection of—what I call—‘life souvenirs’. It’ll always be a lovely little work in progress.”